"Random Cups" Revisited

The "random cups" may seem pretty simple and meaningless to most people... and probably disgusting to others. But to me it's actually a series of fascinating case studies in human psychology, as well as social and behavioral patterns. Think I'm joking? Don't laugh Christi. I'm serious! Watch what happens! And, who cares what other people think. This is for my own weirdness.

There's another little twist... I'm curious about Cayla's behavior and observation techniques. This is the second weekend in a row that I have been woken up by Cayla enthusiastically showing me her little notepad with her "grid" all drawn out with names and check marks on how well she's kept track of everybody without them knowing. She's very sly. I'll have to keep an "extra eye" on her. ;-)

OK, back to my "random" cup case study. I say "random" but it's not really so "random." They're really patterns of habit. These patterns have to be cross-referenced by other observations. Here are just a few examples of what I learned so far...


John Paul has been added to the list. His cup is the green one on the second shelf below the water, keeping it separate from everybody else (note: his favorite color is from his favorite superhero, the Hulk - he runs around the house without his shirt on, flexing his skinny bones, and roaring at the little girls, but I digress). However, my little spy informed me that the blue one is also his! Maybe a distraction away from his main cup, but most likely because he forgot about his green one on the second shelf. He also knows that Sophia's favorite color is also green. hmmm.

Sophia and Felicity are back at it on the top shelve. My first thought was Sophia's cup is the other green one (her favorite color because of Tinkerbell), but then it has a sippy lid which leads me to believe it's Felicity's who doesn't want to graduate to the next level. She still wants to hang back with Maria (i.e., regression). Plus, she's still insecure about spilling. Cayla has informed me that my suspicion was correct and that the pink cup is Sophia's... which happens to be empty. hmmmm.

Now Sophia is the main culprit. She sometimes leaves empty cups in the fridge (such as the pink one)... which Christi clears out whenever she sees them. I have to figure out why she leaves empty ones. My first thought is because she is trying save her cup in case she can't find one later (when they're all in the sink or dish washer). But we'll see.

Maria's bottles are obvious. Christi finds them laying in random spots and puts them in the fridge to not waist the milk. We go through A LOT of milk. The bottom shelf is not pictured, but usually has 4 gallons of milk on it.

My little spy has also informed me that Kolbe has been flying under the radar. His random, stealthy patterns can only be observed in brief periods, but has not been caught leaving cups too long. So far, the older three are not involved. They just fill the sink and get a new one when needed. Looks like Christi also bought more creamer and "knock-off" gatorade (i.e., fakerade) from Aldi's. Price conscious! I like that! ;-)

All this and more from just observing "random" cups in the fridge. Imagine how many other "random" observations I take note of on a daily basis. You'd be surprised how much can be learned from paying attention to simple and seemingly meaningless things.

I haven't even gotten to the kicker yet... when I start adding things (like sugar or salt) to there cups so that it tastes different when they return for a sip. I can't wait to see or hear about it from Cayla!

My children and grandchildren will look back at this and probably just scratch their heads wondering what made me so crazy. I blame it mostly on my dad (a former Vietnam vet - Special Forces Psyops Officer).
Thanks Dad! You nutty guy! ;-)